Lodi teen killed, six injured in Route 23 accident in West Milford

By ABBOTT KOLOFF, KIM LUEDDEKE and MATTHEW McGRATH

STAFF WRITERS |

The Record

A 17-year-old Lodi girl who aspired to become a children’s therapist was killed in a collision late Wednesday night when the car she was in went the wrong way on Route 23 north in West Milford, officials said Thursday.

The driver, a 16-year-old boy, somehow ended up driving south on Route 23 north, colliding head-on just before midnight with a car that had just emerged from a twisting section of highway where the speed limit drops to 35 mph from 55 mph, police said. All six survivors in the two cars were injured in the accident, two of them seriously, and were taken to area hospitals, police said.

The girl who died was identified as Kanil Reyes of Lodi by the Rev. Fredy Sanchez of Our Lady of Mount Virgin parish in Garfield, where a memorial service will be held Friday evening. Sanchez said Reyes was a member of a youth group at his church.

Reyes was in the front passenger seat of a Ford Fusion that was carrying two other passengers, police said. It collided with a Mercedes-Benz S500 driven by Jaelen Moore, 18, of North Arlington, who was driving north in the fast lane, accompanied by two passengers, police said. The highway’s northbound and southbound lanes are separated in the area of the crash by a large median of grass and woods.

An assistant Passaic County prosecutor, Michael DeMarco, said the 16-year-old was in violation of restrictions placed on young drivers. Authorities had yet to determine whether he had a permit, but even if he did, state law would bar him from driving after 11 p.m., he said.

DeMarco would not say whether charges would be filed, adding that authorities are still investigating the incident.

Students in shock

Reyes was a rising senior at Lodi High School. Her friends described her on Thursday as outgoing, saying she had a big heart and was always eager to help others. They said she was planning to study social work in college so she could be a children’s therapist.

One of her teachers, Steve Noordeloos, said Reyes shined in his Algebra II class, where she had the highest score on the final exam, and always participated in class.

A pair of Reyes’ Lodi High School classmates, Karina Cruz and Alexy Delacruz, were still in shock Thursday afternoon as they talked about their friend at Lodi Memorial Park. The three girls already were looking forward to next year’s senior prom, they said. They described Reyes as a funny girl who loved to clown around.

DeMarco said authorities had not determined where the teens in Reyes’ car had been earlier in the night, and did not know where the car driven by Moore was heading at the time of the crash. West Milford’s Clinton Road, near the crash site, has long been a destination for curious teenagers because of an Internet myth that it is haunted.

“That’s one of the things we’re looking into,” DeMarco said.

He said police were still piecing the events together because all but one of the six people who were injured were still in the hospital late Thursday.

Four of the survivors were flown by medical helicopters to area hospitals. The others were less seriously injured, and were taken from the scene by ambulance. Other than Moore, police did not release the names of the victims, their conditions or their hometowns.

DeMarco said two of the victims had serious injuries and one had been released from a hospital by late Thursday afternoon. One girl was in serious condition at Morristown Medical Center, officials said. DeMarco would not provide details about any of the injuries, but said none were life-threatening.

“It’s actually miraculous,” he said.

Crisis support in place

Lodi High School’s principal, Frank D’Amico, said school officials had reached out to the family and had set up a crisis support team for students. He declined to comment on Reyes.

Joseph Licata, Lodi’s school board president, issued a statement at Thursday’s board meeting: “The entire board is deeply saddened by the events that happened. All our sympathies go out to the families involved.”

Moore, the driver of the northbound Mercedes, had been with friends at his family’s pool earlier in the evening, said a neighbor, John Koryzma. Moore’s Facebook page says he is a 2011 graduate of North Arlington High School and is employed at the Muscle Maker Grill in Lyndhurst. A store manager declined to comment.

Reyes had said at 9 p.m. Wednesday night that she was going out to see friends, said a neighbor, Maleek Wilson, 17.

A friend, Jennifer Mejia, said Reyes had been trying to help a friend in the hours before her death and was texting Mejia about it late Wednesday night. Then, all of a sudden, the texts stopped.

“I was texting her, but then never got a reply back,” Mejia said.

Another friend, Chantal Ochoa, said Reyes loved to sing and dance, and that her favorite singer was Prince Royce. Ochoa said Reyes was always giving to others.

“If anybody needed anything, she’d split herself into 20 people to help them,” Ochoa said, adding that Reyes’s friends were reeling and in denial about her death.

Lodi teen killed, six injured in Route 23 accident in West Milford

By ABBOTT KOLOFF, KIM LUEDDEKE and MATTHEW McGRATH

STAFF WRITERS |

The Record

A 17-year-old Lodi girl who aspired to become a children’s therapist was killed in a collision late Wednesday night when the car she was in went the wrong way on Route 23 north in West Milford, officials said Thursday.

The driver, a 16-year-old boy, somehow ended up driving south on Route 23 north, colliding head-on just before midnight with a car that had just emerged from a twisting section of highway where the speed limit drops to 35 mph from 55 mph, police said. All six survivors in the two cars were injured in the accident, two of them seriously, and were taken to area hospitals, police said.

The girl who died was identified as Kanil Reyes of Lodi by the Rev. Fredy Sanchez of Our Lady of Mount Virgin parish in Garfield, where a memorial service will be held Friday evening. Sanchez said Reyes was a member of a youth group at his church.

Reyes was in the front passenger seat of a Ford Fusion that was carrying two other passengers, police said. It collided with a Mercedes-Benz S500 driven by Jaelen Moore, 18, of North Arlington, who was driving north in the fast lane, accompanied by two passengers, police said. The highway’s northbound and southbound lanes are separated in the area of the crash by a large median of grass and woods.

An assistant Passaic County prosecutor, Michael DeMarco, said the 16-year-old was in violation of restrictions placed on young drivers. Authorities had yet to determine whether he had a permit, but even if he did, state law would bar him from driving after 11 p.m., he said.

DeMarco would not say whether charges would be filed, adding that authorities are still investigating the incident.

Students in shock

Reyes was a rising senior at Lodi High School. Her friends described her on Thursday as outgoing, saying she had a big heart and was always eager to help others. They said she was planning to study social work in college so she could be a children’s therapist.

One of her teachers, Steve Noordeloos, said Reyes shined in his Algebra II class, where she had the highest score on the final exam, and always participated in class.

A pair of Reyes’ Lodi High School classmates, Karina Cruz and Alexy Delacruz, were still in shock Thursday afternoon as they talked about their friend at Lodi Memorial Park. The three girls already were looking forward to next year’s senior prom, they said. They described Reyes as a funny girl who loved to clown around.

DeMarco said authorities had not determined where the teens in Reyes’ car had been earlier in the night, and did not know where the car driven by Moore was heading at the time of the crash. West Milford’s Clinton Road, near the crash site, has long been a destination for curious teenagers because of an Internet myth that it is haunted.

“That’s one of the things we’re looking into,” DeMarco said.

He said police were still piecing the events together because all but one of the six people who were injured were still in the hospital late Thursday.

Four of the survivors were flown by medical helicopters to area hospitals. The others were less seriously injured, and were taken from the scene by ambulance. Other than Moore, police did not release the names of the victims, their conditions or their hometowns.

DeMarco said two of the victims had serious injuries and one had been released from a hospital by late Thursday afternoon. One girl was in serious condition at Morristown Medical Center, officials said. DeMarco would not provide details about any of the injuries, but said none were life-threatening.

“It’s actually miraculous,” he said.

Crisis support in place

Lodi High School’s principal, Frank D’Amico, said school officials had reached out to the family and had set up a crisis support team for students. He declined to comment on Reyes.

Joseph Licata, Lodi’s school board president, issued a statement at Thursday’s board meeting: “The entire board is deeply saddened by the events that happened. All our sympathies go out to the families involved.”

Moore, the driver of the northbound Mercedes, had been with friends at his family’s pool earlier in the evening, said a neighbor, John Koryzma. Moore’s Facebook page says he is a 2011 graduate of North Arlington High School and is employed at the Muscle Maker Grill in Lyndhurst. A store manager declined to comment.

Reyes had said at 9 p.m. Wednesday night that she was going out to see friends, said a neighbor, Maleek Wilson, 17.

A friend, Jennifer Mejia, said Reyes had been trying to help a friend in the hours before her death and was texting Mejia about it late Wednesday night. Then, all of a sudden, the texts stopped.

“I was texting her, but then never got a reply back,” Mejia said.

Another friend, Chantal Ochoa, said Reyes loved to sing and dance, and that her favorite singer was Prince Royce. Ochoa said Reyes was always giving to others.

“If anybody needed anything, she’d split herself into 20 people to help them,” Ochoa said, adding that Reyes’s friends were reeling and in denial about her death.